Tobacco seed sower



April 20, 1954 w N, VAUGHAN 2,676,024

- TOBACCO SEED SOWER Filed March 22, 1951 /z a; INVENTOR ATTORNEYS windand rain, thus assisting the Patented Apr. 20, 1954 UNITED STATES OFFICE3 Claims.

This invention relates to a seed sowing device, and more particularly toa device for sowing extremely fine seeds, such as tobacco seeds.

In the sowing of tobacco seed in beds, it is highly desirable to scatterthe seeds uniformly. This is extremely difiicult because of the factthat the seeds are exceptionally small. A single ounce of tobacco seedscontains approximately three hundred thousand seeds. This amount issumcient to sow from three hundred to four hundred square yards oftobacco bed. Many beds of tobacco plants are destroyed every year byblue mold, which attacks the plants to a greater extent where they areplanted thickly than where the plants are somewhat more scattered. Forthis reason, it is particularly desirable to scatter the seeds uniformlyin a bed, and as stamd, this is quite difficult because of the fine sizeof the seeds.

An important object of the present invention is to provide a simple andhighly eflicient device for sowing tobacco seeds where the sowing takesplace uniformly and wherein the mechanism employed does not mash ordestroy any of the seeds, which would take place with conventional seedsowers.

A further object is to provide a novel and highly simplified type ofdevice for sowing tobacco seeds wherein the seeds are fed in uniformlyspaced small streams to a spatter plate which so divides the seedstreams as to scatter the seeds uniformly over the bed.

A further object is to provide such a device wherein a roller isembodied with the sowing device to roll the ground after the seeds havebeen dropped to cause the seeds to take firm hold in the ground toprevent their being dislodged by properly sown seeds in sprouting.

A further object is to provide such a device which is supported onwheels for rolling movement over the bed and wherein the wheels areconnected by an axle which serves as part of the means for feeding theseeds from a hopper to the spatter plate.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent during the course of the following description.

In the drawing, I have shown one embodiment of the invention. In thisshowing,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the complete device,

Figure 2 is a plan view of the same, part of the handle being brokenaway,

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view on line 33 of Figure2, and

Figure 4 is a similar view on line 4-4 of Figure 2.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, the sower is illustrated as comprising abar It of steel or the like machined to a smooth surface and provided atspaced points therealong with relatively narrow shallow grooves II for apurpose to be described. The bar It forms one element of a seed feedingdevice as further described below, and it serves also as an axleconnected to wheels I2 at opposite sides of the device, these wheelssupporting the device for movement over the seed bed.

A tubular body I 5 surrounds the bar or axle I0 between the ends thereofas shown in Figure 2. This body may be formed of cast iron or steel orany other suitable material and is bored longitudinally as at I6 toreceive the bar In. Particular attention is invited to the fact that thebar I 0 and bore I6 are smoothly finished and have a close bearing fitwith each other for a purpose to be described.

The body I5 is provided at the top and bottom thereof respectively withrelatively wide slots I1 and I8, the former of which provides a hopperfor seeds I9 (Figure 3), while the opening or slot I 8 provides for thedischarge of seeds passing from the hopper I'I downwardly through thegrooves I I, as further described below. The continuity of each of theslots I1 and I8 is interrupted at the ends thereof by integralconnecting webs 2i and centrally thereof by a similar connecting web 2I, thus fixing the sides of the body I5 relative to each other.

A handle frame of flat bar material indicated by the numeral 24 isconnected to a suitable handle 25 and has forward parallel portions 23connected to the ends of the body I5 by suitable screws 21 (Figure 4).Accordingly, it will be apparent that the device may be pushed over theground by the handle 25, supported by the wheels I2.

A spatter plate 30 is arranged beneath the discharge opening or slot I8and is inclined downwardly and rearwardly as shown in Figure 3. Thisplate is supported by arms 3| connected at their upper ends to the bodyI5.

A roller 35 follows behind the sowing device and is spaced therefrom asshown in Figures 1 and 2. The roller has an axle 36 to which areconnected the rear lower ends of arms 31 having their forward endspivoted as at 38 to the handle frame 24. Accordingly, the roller 35 isadapted to swing freely relative to the handle structure to remain incontact with the ground.

Operation The ground is prepared to form a bed to receive the seed. Thedesired quantity of seed is placed in the hopper I1 with the device atone end of the bed, whereupon the operator pushes the device forwardlyor to the right, as viewed in Figure l. The very fine tobacco seed willflow in small streams around the grooves H, and particular attention isinvited to the fact that these grooves are preferably circumferential toeliminate any shearing of the fine tobacco seeds against the bottomforward edge of the hopper ll. Of course, the bar or axle it rotateswith the wheels 42, this rotation being clockwise, as viewed in Figure3, and the rotation of the bar assists in feeding seeds around thegrooves ll. Attention also is invited to the fact that the bar 16 hassnug bearing engagement with the bore I6, thus preventing the wedging ofany of the fine seeds between the bore i6 and the bar i intermediate thegrooves H thereof.

The seeds flowing downwardly in streams around the grooves II dropthrough the opening l8 and strike against the spatter plate 30. Thestreams of seeds falling through the opening 18 are relatively uniformand the long opening 18 permits the seeds of each stream to start toseparate as soon as they are free of the groove H. The seeds dropping onthe plate 38 are further divided and spread longitudinally of the plate38; and in actual practice, it has been found that a highly uniformdistribution of seeds over the bed is accomplished without anyappreciable damaging of the seeds passing through the device.

As previously stated, it is extremely difiicult to handle seeds as fineas tobacco seeds in a .mechanical device without mashing or damaging asubstantial percentage of the seeds, and it is diificult to secure auniform distribution of the undamaged seeds. The present device performsits functions perfectly, and a proper and uniform distribution of seedsover the prepared bed is performed by the mere pushing of the deviceover the ground at a fair speed. The roller 35 follows the sowing deviceand rolls the seeds into the ground, giving them a firm hold on theground by impacting the ground relative to the seeds. Thus the seeds arenot only uniformly distributed, but they are firmly implanted in theground and are thus prevented from being dislodged by Wind and rain.Accordingly, the seeds germinate efficiently and the young plants growwell and in a healthy condition. The seeds are not bunched to renderthem more susceptible to attacks by blue mold, and yet the seeds areplanted as thickly per square yard as is recommended by authorities inthis field.

I claim:

1. In a fine-seed sower, a horizontal cylinder having an elongated seedfeeding opening in its top extending longitudinally of the cylinder overa substantial portion of its length, and an elongated seed dischargingopening in the bottom thereof, a rod rotatable in said cylinder in snugbearing engagement therewith, said rod being provided with a pluralityof identical relatively narrow, shallow continuous circumferentialgrooves spaced from each other along the rod and communicating with saidopenings, and means beneath said cylinder for scattering seed droppingthrough said discharge opening.

2..A fine-seed sower comprising an elongated relatively thick cylinderhaving an axial bore therethrough, said cylinder being provided in thetop thereof with an elongated slot extending into said bore toconstitute a seed hopper, and being provided beneath said bore with anelongated discharge opening, and a rotatable rod in said bore in snugbearing engagement therewith, said rod being provided with a pluralityof longitudinally spaced continuous circumferential groovescommunicating with said elongated slot and discharge opening.

3. A fine-seed sower comprising an elongated relatively thick cylinderhaving an axial bore therethrough, said cylinder being provided in thetop thereof with an elongated slot extending longitudinally of thecylinder bore and into said bore to constitute a seed hopper, and beingprovided beneath said bore with an elongated discharge opening, arotatable rod in said bore in snug bearing engagement therewith, saidrod being provided with a plurality of longitudinally spaced continuouscircumferential grooves communicating with said slot and dischargeopening, and supporting Wheels at the ends of said cylinder. said wheelsbeing mounted on the ends of said rod whereby the latter constitutes anaxle for said Wheels and said wheels rotate said rod during movement ofthe device over the ground.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 78,396 Sanderson et a1. May 26, 1868 114,047 Sargent Apr. 25,1871 150,199 Smith Apr. 28, 1874 273,146 Powell Feb. 27, 1883 1,912,988Masters June 6, 1933 2,065,717 Marlsdale Dec. 29, 1986 2,113,503Blakesley Apr. '5, 1938 2,541,867 Givenrod Feb. 13, 1951 2,569,421Larson Sept. 25, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 243,268Switzerland Dec. 16, 1946

